Directional microphones are commonly used to pick up sound in speakerphones. The microphones can either be housed within the telephone set at an appropriate location, or configured as an array of microphones. The idea of integrating an array of microphones in a telephone set is not new. U.S. Pat. No. 4,311,874 (Wallace) sets forth an array of microphones to capture sound for a telephonic conversation. Commonly available conference units typically have three directional microphones to pick up the sound in the room. For example, the 35XX series of telephone sets manufactured by Mitel Networks Corporation uses a microphone array housed in a special unit to capture the sound.
Stand alone microphones are also available from manufacturers such as Andrea and GN Netcom for use primarily with personal computers.
It will be apparent from the foregoing that currently available microphone arrays are sold either as separate products that do not necessarily integrate well with a telephone or are built into the telephone thus burdening the user with a feature that he/she may or may not want.